Thirty-five Russian diplomats have been expelled from the US, according to a senior official. President Obama described those expelled as "intelligence operatives," also announcing the closure of two Russian compounds, in New York and Maryland. The Russian diplomats would be given 72 hours to leave US soil, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The Russian staff will also be denied access to the New York and Maryland compound as of noon on Friday, the source added.

The measures were introduced "in response to the Russian government's aggressive harassment of US officials and cyber operations aimed at the US election," Obama said in his statement, calling the measures "a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm US interests in violation of established international norms of behavior."

"All Americans should be alarmed by Russia's actions," the president stressed, again blaming Moscow for orchestrating hacking attacks. "These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government," he said. "Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year," Obama added.

"In our point of view such actions of the US current administration are a manifestation of an unpredictable and even aggressive foreign policy," Peskov told the journalists. "We regret the fact that this decision was taken by the US administration and President Obama personally," he said.

"As it said before, we consider this decision and these sanctions unjustified and illegal under international law," the presidential spokesman added. The US restrictions won't be left unanswered by Moscow, Peskov said, promising "adequate, reciprocal" reaction "that will deliver significant discomfort to the US side in the same areas."

However, he added that "there's no need to rush" with the countermeasures against Washington. "Considering the current transition period in Washington, we still expect that we'll be able to get rid of such clumsy actions... of behaving like a bull in a china shop, and that we'll be able to make mutual joint steps to enter on the path of normalization of our bilateral relations," the spokesman said.

President-elect Donald Trump has responded to the Obama administration's decision to implement new sanctions on Russia and expel 35 Russian officials from the US over alleged interference in the presidential election.

The president-elect released a statement Thursday evening, saying that the country needs to "move on to bigger and better things."

"Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated about the facts of this situation," Trump continued.

The statement reiterated Trump's comments from Wednesday night, when he spoke to journalists about reports of the impending sanctions outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly," he said. "The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I'm not sure we have the kind, the security we need."

WikiLeaks has criticized the new package of US sanctions against Russia, saying it violates international law. The whistleblowing group, however, suggests that Moscow hold its fire till January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

"Obama's banning Russian diplomats from entering into two diplomatic properties in the US is likely a violation of the Vienna Convention," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

It went on to suggest that Moscow might want to wait until US President-elect Trump's inauguration on January 20 before taking any action.

"The Russian embassy must be facing a dilemma over its 2 banned compounds. Overnight decommission, or put in people + food in and wait for Jan 20," they wrote.

We regard the recent unfriendly steps taken by the outgoing US administration as provocative and aimed at further weakening the Russia-US relationship. This runs contrary to the fundamental interests of both the Russian and American people. Considering the global security responsibilities of Russia and the United States, this is also damaging to international relations as a whole.

As it proceeds from international practice, Russia has reasons to respond in kind. Although we have the right to retaliate, we will not resort to irresponsible 'kitchen' diplomacy but will plan our further steps to restore Russian-US relations based on the policies of the Trump Administration.

The diplomats who are returning to Russia will spend the New Year's holidays with their families and friends. We will not create any problems for US diplomats. We will not expel anyone. We will not prevent their families and children from using their traditional leisure sites during the New Year's holidays. Moreover, I invite all children of US diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and Christmas children's parties in the Kremlin.

It is regrettable that the Obama Administration is ending its term in this manner. Nevertheless, I offer my New Year greetings to President Obama and his family.

My season's greetings also to President-elect Donald Trump and the American people.

I wish all of you happiness and prosperity.

Zakharova wrote that the outgoing president did not manage to leave "any" major foreign policy achievements as part of his legacy and instead of "putting an elegant period" to his two presidential terms has "made a huge blot" with his latest decision to impose more sanctions on Russia, expelling 35 Russian diplomats and closing two diplomatic compounds in the US.

"Today America, the American people were humiliated by their own president. Not by international terrorists, not by [the] enemy's troops. This time Washington was slapped by own master, who has complicated the urgent tasks for the incoming team in the extreme," Zakharova wrote, labeling the current administration "a group of foreign policy losers, bitter and narrow-minded."

"Today, Obama officially admitted it," she wrote.

Zakharova then offered her sympathy to Secretary of State John Kerry, who, she argued, had also suffered under the current administration as he was unable to do his job properly, being constantly "mocked" and "let down" by his own colleagues.

"Mr. Kerry, in this difficult moment for the United States, let me convey you the words of sympathy - you have done all what was possible to avert your country's collapse in foreign policy," she said, giving credit to Kerry's diplomatic skills.

"Out of this group of spoilers, I pity only Kerry. He was not an ally. But he tried to be a professional and maintain his human dignity."

Zakharova also said that with its incoherent foreign policy, Obama's administration has inadvertently debunked a long-cherished myth of America's exceptionalism that claims a special place in the world.

"This is it, [the] curtain [has dropped]. The bad performance is over. The whole world, from the front row to the balcony, is watching a devastating blow to America's prestige and its leadership, dealt by Barack Obama and his semi-literate foreign policy team, which has exposed its main secret to the world - exceptionalism was a masked helplessness."

"No enemy of the United States could have done worse," Zakharova concluded.

The spokesperson promised that the US won't have to wait too long for Moscow's response.

"Tomorrow there will be official statements, countermeasures, and much more," she wrote.

American officials 'anonymously' briefed their media that in response [to Obama's sanctions], Russia closed an American school in Moscow.

It's a lie. Apparently, the White House has really gone mad and started to come up with sanctions against their own children.

And please don't write that "Moscow has denied... or will not...".

Write like it is: "CNN and other Western media once again referring to the American official sources spread false information"

Usually, you ask Santa Claus to bring you something. This year I will ask him to take something away.

Zakharova said Moscow hoped that the bad timing of the expulsion and all the troubles it caused to the Russian citizens was an oversight rather than intended malice on the part of the White House.

Russia refrained from its usual practice of responding to expulsions of its citizens by a foreign power with mirror expulsions of the respective country's citizens from Russia.

"We took into serious consideration how our American colleagues and their families would feel. Especially their children, who are now preparing for the New Year and are on their Christmas holidays," Zakharova explained. "They would have been cut off from their school programs and forced to pack their things and go back to their homeland in 72 hours. So we decided against it."

"I've never seen a president try to create more problems for a future president," Giuliani told Fox News. "First he double crosses Israel... now after 18 months of this hacking he does something about it. Why didn't he do something about it 18 months ago? It wouldn't have happened."

"We are convinced that this initiative of Obama administration was dictated not by a desire to achieve problem's resolution, but by an attempt to create additional challenges to Trump administration on this issue [Israeli-Palestinian settlement]," the source said. "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed US State Secretary John Kerry that Russia has no intention to support US administration proposals on the Palestinian-Israeli issues," the source added.

"President Obama seriously compromised the signal he was trying to send by mashing together both the cyberattacks and the harassment of American diplomats in Moscow."

"This last burst of [Obama's] activity is intended to try and box the Trump administration in. And I think it will fail," Bolton stated.

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for his decision not to expel American diplomats in response to a similar move by the US.

The MEP and prominent Brexit campaigner commended Putin on Twitter, describing the move as "mature."

Farage, who has cultivated a close relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump since the US election, went on to say the new administration "can't come soon enough."

This episode also shows something else about Putin, which I have often commented on, but which receives no attention in the Western media because it so completely contradicts the image the Western media has of him. This is Putin's deeply ingrained habit of courtesy. Here we have an example of Putin using it to his and Russia's advantage. That Putin's statement has successfully hit home is shown by the bewildered Western media reaction, which whilst reporting the statement is struggling to come up with a coherent response.
...
Putin's statement is not of course only or even principally directed at the Western public. A fact which Western commentators consistently overlook is that Putin's primary audience, and the one he always principally addresses whenever he speaks, is the Russian public.

Here again Putin's statement shows what a skilful politician he is, which in turn shows why he has dominated Russian political life for so long.

His response to Obama's boorish actions on the eve of the New Year holiday (the biggest and most important holiday in Russia) is to call them a "provocation" . He then makes Russia - and by extension himself - appear all the stronger and greater by refusing to be provoked by them. At the same time he makes Obama appear vindictive by revealing how his actions have disrupted the New Year holidays of Russian diplomats and their families. He then contrasts this by making Russia - and again by extension himself - appear open hearted and generous by not only refusing to respond in kind but by inviting the children of US diplomats to the New Year and Christmas parties in the Kremlin.

This is a very skilfully judged response, which will only only serve to confirm the already high opinion most Russians have of Putin, and which will further consolidate their support for him as their leader.

This incidentally has been the consistent pattern throughout Putin's Presidency, with Putin always turning the West's attacks on him to his domestic political advantage.

All in all, if this episode shows Obama at his most ugly and small-minded, it also shows Putin at his most skilful and most clever.

Since a consistent feature of Obama as President is that he always wants to be taken for the cleverest man around, Putin's reaction - showing Putin once again to be cleverer than he is - is all but guaranteed to enrage Obama even more.